CH EN 1002 – Sustainable Energy

Conventional Energy Technology:

Hydroelectric
October 5, 2007

Reminders

¾ Homework #4
• Due Today

¾ Project assignment coming Friday…

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 Hydroelectric Power

¾ 715,000 (715 GW) production worldwide

¾ 20% of world electricity
¾ U.S. Production: 79 GW
• Can reasonably expand by 30 to 70 GW

Major Hydropower Countries

Annual Installed
Production Capacity Load
Country (TWh) (GW) Factor

China 417 129 0.37

Canada 350 69 0.59
Brazil 350 69 0.56
USA 290 79 0.42
Russia 157 45 0.42
Norway 120 28 0.49

Total World Capacity: 715 GW

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 Hydropower Technology

¾ Large-scale hydropower
• Dams hold back water and create a "head"
(height difference) of water – potential energy
• Water flows through turbines ("propellers")
causing them to spin
• Shaft connects turbine and electrical
generator used to make electricity
• Turbines can be "spun down" or turned off
when power is not needed

Hydroelectric Turbine + Generator

Source: Wikipedia.Com 6

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 Hydroelectric Dam

Source: Wikipedia.Com 7

Pumped-Storage power

¾ Operates "in reverse" during

low demand periods
¾ 75-80% recovery of
pumping energy
upon discharge

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 Small-Scale ("mini") Hydro

¾ Uses existing water flow, no dams

¾ Different classifications
• Small hydro: less than 25 MW
• Mini hydro: less than 1 MW
• Micro hydro: less than 0.1 MW
¾ Local production
and usage
¾ Global small-scale
hydro production:
66 GW
¾ China small-scale
hydro: 39 GW
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Micro Hydro

Micro Hydroelectric generation in NW Vietnam village. Set-up involves

bamboo and wooden sluices channelling water into oil drums fitted with hand-
carved bamboo turbines. Electricity generation was via motorbike alternators.
Interestingly, high-tension power lines ran through the middle of the village,
but clearly were not used by the villagers. Source: Wikipedia.Com 10

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 Notable Hydroelectric
Power Plants

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Cragside, Rothbury, England

¾ World's first hydroelectric

power plant
¾ Installed 1870
¾ Used a Siemens dynamo
generator
¾ Initially used for machines
(elevator, laundry equipment)
¾ Cragside manor first house lit
by electric lighting
• Arc lamp 1878
• Joseph Swan's incandescent
lamps 1880

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 Fox River, Appleton, Wisconsin

¾ First hydroelectric plant in U.S.

¾ World's first commercial hydro power plant
¾ Built 1882
¾ Supplied power for lighting two paper mills and
one house

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Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant

¾ Constructed 1895
¾ 2,500 Megawatts today
¾ Diverts water from above Niagara Falls to
reservoir in parallel with river
• More than half of water diverted
• Majority of water diverted at night
• Uses pumped-storage technique

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 James Bay Hydro Project, Canada

¾ Constructed in 1970s in northeastern Quebec

¾ Multiple dams provide 16,000 MW of power
¾ Flooded total of 3,800 square miles
¾ Flooded 10% of the huting and fishing grounds
of the indiginous Cree of Chisasibi
¾ Initial increase in mercury levels in fish by a
factor of 4 to 5
• Decomposition of organic material under water;
mercury in this material results primarily from coal-
fired power plants in northeastern U.S.
• Subsequent slow decrease in mercury levels
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Grand Coulee Dam

¾ Eastern Washington state, Columbia River

¾ Largest hydroelectric plant in U.S.
¾ Built 1942
¾ 1 mile long, 550 feet high
¾ 6.8 GW generating capacity

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 Hoover (Boulder) Dam

¾ On Colorado River, Nevada-Arizona

¾ Built 1931-1936
¾ 1250 feet long, 726 feet high
¾ 2 GW (2,000 MW) power output

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Three Gorges Dam, China

¾ Construction complete 2009

¾ 7700 feet long, 616 feet high,
400 feet wide at bottom
¾ Reservoir 370 miles long
¾ 22,500 MW (22.5 GW) generating capacity

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 Stairs Hydroelectric Plant

¾ Big Cottonwood Canyon

¾ Began operation 1896
¾ Still in use today
¾ 1.2 Megawatts

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Consequences of Hydro

¾ Damage fish habitat, loss of population

¾ Silt buildup
¾ Greenhouse gases
¾ Population displacement
¾ Risk of accident

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 1975 Banqiao Flood, China

¾ Dam built in 1950s

• Designed to withstand "1 in 1000 year flood"
¾ August 1975
• "1 in 2000 year flood" occurred
• 15 inches of rain in 1 hour
• 40 inches of rain in 1 day
¾ Dam burst
• 79,000 m3/s outflow
• 16 billion tons water released
• Wave 6 miles wide, 20 feet high
¾ Consequences
• 145,000 dead
• 6 million buildings collaped

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Pros? Cons?

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The End

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